Bifurcated magnetic sphere with resilient tether

ABSTRACT

An amusement device having particular appeal to young children includes a resilient, magnetic pickup ball attached to the end of a tether or string. In use the ball is thrown toward ferromagnetic characters or other objects which are retrieved with the ball provided that the ball strikes the objects or strikes in a region immediately adjacent the objects. The ball is preferably formed from a composite material which possesses both the resilient and magnetic properties throughout. One portion is formed of a resilient and magnetic material and another portion formed by a non-magnetic material having the same resilience. A semi-circular section of finite thickness is removed and a nonmagnetic material is inserted thereby forming a bifurcated hemisphere to permit the north and south poles of the magnetic field within the ball to be located on the bifurcations at opposite sides.

United States Patent 1191 Lauzon BIFURCATED MAGNETIC SPHERE WITHRESILIENT TETHER [22] Filed: Feb. 17, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 227,125

[52] US. Cl. 273/95 A, 46/241, 273/58 J [51] Int. Cl A63b 71/02 8] Fieldof Search 273/1 M, 58 R, 58 C, 58 J, 273/26 E, 95 A, 97 R, 98, 230, 59R, 128 A,

[56] References Cited 1,356,524 2/1964 France 1451 Aug. 20, 1974 PrimaryExaminer-Anton O. Oechsle Assistant Examiner-Marvin Siskind Attorney,Agent, or Firm-McCormick, Paulding & Huber [5 7 ABSTRACT An amusementdevice having particular appeal to young children includes a resilient,magnetic pickup ball attached to the end of a tether or string. In usethe ball is thrown toward ferromagnetic characters or other objectswhich are retrieved with the ball provided that the ball strikes theobjects or strikes in a region immediately adjacent the objects. Theball is preferably formed from a composite material which possesses boththe resilient and magnetic properties throughout. One portion is formedof a resilient and magnetic material and another portion formed by anon-magnetic material having the same resilience. A semi-circularsection of finite thickness is removed and a non-magnetic material isinserted therebyform 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Pmmmmszmm SIEEIZMZ FIG.4

FIG. 3

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to amusementdevices and more particularly is directed to a magnetic pickup ballwhich retrieves ferromagnetic objects.

Amusement devices including a ball at the end of a tether, which may beeither elastic or non-elastic, are already well known in the art. Suchballs may be whirled through the air at the end of the tether or bouncedoff of a paddle or a backboard in an organized game or simply foramusement.

Magnetic retrieving devices connected to a tether or pole for picking upmagnetically sensitive or ferromagnetic objects such as small metalliccharacters, numerals or similar objects are also well known in the artand are used in games of skill or simply for amusement.

It is an object of the present invention to disclose an amusement devicewhich combines the resilient features of the tethered-ball devices andthe magnetic features of the pickup devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention resides in an amusementdevice in the form of a spherical body having both magnetic andresilient characteristics. The spherical body is resilient at eachportion of the body surface and is formed at least in part from amagnetic and resilient material permitting a magnetic field having polesat different points on the body surface to exist within the body.Preferably, the spherical body is a ball formed from a compositematerial including a resilient plastic or rubber binder impregnated withfinely divided powder that is permanently magnetized. The body isattached to a tether so that when it is thrown toward smallerferromagnetic articles, both the body and the articles are returned tothe thrower.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a young child playingwith the amusement device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of one embodiment of the amusementdevice in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partially sectioned perspective view of another embodimentof the amusement device.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view showing still anothe embodiment of theamusement device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a young childplaying with an amusement device, generally designated 10, constructedin accordance with the present invention. The device 10 is comprised ofa resilient and magnetic pickup ball 12 and includes a retrieving tether14 which is securely fastened'or anchored at one end to the'ball 12. Inuse the child throws or drops the ball toward small, fe'rro magneticarticles A. If the ball strikes within close proxother configurationswhich are relatively small or light compared to the ball. In gamesemploying the pickup ball, the characters may be accumulated or pickedup in specific order.

One form of the amusement device 10 is shown in cross section in FIG. 2.The pickup ball 12 is essentially a solid spherical body 20 having adiametral passageway 22 through which the tether 14 passes. The lower ordepending end of the tether 14 is tied in a knot 24 so that. the body 20is captured on the tether. The tether 14 may be fitted tightly withinthe passageway 22 so that the body 20 is frictionally retained orconnected to the end of the tether. Of course, other means may beprovided for anchoring the tether securely within the body 20 so thatthe ball 12 can be easily retrieved by pulling back on the tether 14.

The body 20 is formed from a material which is both resilient andmagnetic so that the ball is resilient at each portion of the bodysurface and permits a magnetic field having poles at different points onthe body surface to exist within the body. A material having suchcharacteristics and particularly suitable for the amusement device is ahomogeneous composite material comprised of a rubber or resilientplastic binder in which finely divided, magnetic particles aresuspended. Materials of this type are readily available on the marketand generally employ ferrites such as barium, lead and strontium ferritein powdered form distributed uniformly through a resilient or flexiblebinder. One such product is marketed by B. F. Goodrich under thetrademark Koroseal. Such materials are capable of .being permanentlymagnetized with more than two poles so that a plurality of poles withinterlaced fields can be generated on the surface of the spherical body20. Once the body 20 is permanently magnetized, it will readily pick upor attract other ferromagnetic materials.

The tether 14 may be simply a non-resilient string or a resilient cordwhich in combination with the resilient characteristics of the body 20adds an additional degree of skill to any game or play in which thedevice 20 is employed. The end of thetether held by the child mayinclude a ring or other gripping element if desired.

' It should also be recognized that the pickup ball 12 may be employedwithout a tether to retrieve articles by merely throwing or dropping theball adjacent an article and-recovering the ball on the bounce.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the pickup ball 12 taking the form ofa spherical body 30 having a hollow spherical cavity '32 at its center.The body is again composed of a resilient and magnetic material and isprovided with a diametral passageway for connecting the ball 12 to aretrieving tether. In this embodiment of the ball 12, it will be readilyunderstood that the size of the cavity 32 will affect the resiliency andweight of the ball and the radius of the cavity 32 may be selectedaccordingly. 7

FIG. 4 discloses still another embodiment of the ball 12 in the form ofa solid spherical body having one portion 40 formed by a resilient andmagnetic material and another portion 42 formed by a non-magneticmaterial having the same resilience as or preferably greater resiliencethan the portion 40. The portion 40 is basically spherical in shapeand'has a semicircular section of f1- nite thickness t removed to form aspace or slot through the one side of the portion. The space is filledby the second portion 42 of non-magnetic material so that the ball 12 isentirely resilient but the portion 40 has a bifurcated hemisphere topermit the north and south poles of the magnetic field within the ballto be located respectively on the bifurcations at opposite sides of theportion 42.

While the present invention has been described in several embodiments,it should be understood that numerous modifications and substitutionscan be had in the specific structures disclosed without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. The manner in which a tether is connectedto the pickup ball 12 can be changed from that shown in FIG. 2. The sizeof the pickup ball can be varied as desired; however, balls havingoutside diameters ranging between 1 and 3 inches are generallypreferred. The outside surface of the spherical bodies may be eithersmooth or ragged depending upon the bounce characteristics desired. Alsoit is possible to paint, print or otherwise decorate the outer surfaceof the bodies for greater appeal. Ac

cordingly, the present invention has been described in severalembodiments merely by way of illustration rather than limitation.

I claim:

1. An amusement device comprising: a spherical body having a firstspherical portion including in one hemisphere two bifurcations, and asecond portion between the bifurcations, one of the portions beingformed by a magnetic and resilient material and the other portion beingformed by a non-magnetic and resilient material to permit the north andsouth poles of the magnetic field within the ball to be located onopposite sides of the bifurcations.

2. An amusement device as defined in claim 1 wherein: the magnetic andresilient material of the one portion is a homogeneous magnetic andresilient material having finely divided magnetic particles distributeduniformly throughout a resilient binder to hold the particles in placerelative to one another.

3. An amusement device as defined in claim 1 wherein:

the first spherical portion of the body is composed of a resilientbinder impregnated with finely divided particles of a magnetic material;

the second spherical portion is composed of a resilient material; and

a retrieving tether is provided and has one end secured to the body.

4. An amusement device as defined in claim 1 wherein: the first portionhas a space in the shape of a semicircular section located between thetwo bifurcations.

5. An amusement device as defined in claim 1 further including a tetherhaving one end connected with the spherical body for retrieving thebody.

6. An amusement device as defined in claim 5 wherein: the tetherconnected with the spherical body is a resilient tether.

1. An amusement device comprising: a spherical body having a firstspherical portion including in one hemisphere two bifurcations, and asecond portion between the bifurcations, one of the portions beingformed by a magnetic and resilient material and the other portion beingformed by a non-magnetic and resilient material to permit the north andsouth poles of the magnetic field within the ball to be located onopposite sides of the bifurcations.
 2. An amusement device as defined inclaim 1 wherein: the magnetic and resilient material of the one portionis a homogeneous magnetic and resilient material having finely dividedmagnetic particles distributed uniformly throughout a resilient binderto hold the particles in place relative to one another.
 3. An amusementdevice as defined in claim 1 wherein: the first spherical portion of thebody is composed of a resilient binder impregnated with finely dividedparticles of a magnetic material; the second spherical portion iscomposed of a resilient material; and a retrieving tether is providedand has one end secured to the body.
 4. An amusement device as definedin claim 1 wherein: the first portion has a space in the shape of asemicircular section located between the two bifurcations.
 5. Anamusement device as defined in claim 1 further including a tether havingone end connected with the spherical body for retrieving the body.
 6. Anamusement device as defined in claim 5 wherein: the tether connectedwith the spherical body is a resilient tether.